Lauzon-Franca feud adds subplot to UFC Fight Night 17 main event

There are many things wholly unique about Joe Lauzon. His makeup is a matrix of strength, intensity and superior intelligence. His mind is complex in thought process yet simple in conclusion. In his world Jiu-jitsu is mathematics. Every breakdown of an opponent’s tendencies and techniques is the analysis of quantity, pattern and form.

“He’s probably the smartest fighter I worked with,” Steve Baccari, Lauzon’s strength and conditioning coach, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “He takes a science approach. It’s like A plus B equals whatever. He doesn’t care what a guy looks like or what people say about him. It’s brains more than anything.”

An initial look at Lauzon’s boyish complexion and sheepish grin is an accurate impression of his demeanor. He’s shy, easygoing and easily brushes off the shenanigans populated by a few in the MMA world. He’s a mature 24, quicker to lift a book or run numbers than a drinking glass.

“I try not to run around and act like an idiot,” Lauzon said. “A lot of guys walk around like, ‘I’m the [expletive]. I’m on TV.’ They look like an idiot. They’re going to have a good 10 minutes, and then after, that they’re real idiots. I don’t want to be that guy.”

What Lauzon wants is perpetual main-event status. He has it Saturday as the headliner of UFC Fight Night 17 in Tampa, Fla. His opponent was Hermes Franca until the Brazilian veteran pulled out after suffering a torn anterior crucial ligament in his right knee 12 days before fight night. In Franca’s place is a protégé, Jeremy Stephens, but gripping Lauzon is a budding vendetta started by what was initially playful prodding on The Underground, a popular MMA forum.

The impetuous, at least to Lauzon’s conclusion, defied any concept of a logical proof. Lauzon wished Franca a speedy recovery. Franca’s response was that he was the luckiest motherf’r alive and a yen to fight him because his brother “sucks.” Joe’s brother is Dan, victorious over Bobby Green at “Affliction: Day of Reckoning” in January.

“I don’t think it was a calculated or manipulative move. I think it was just him being an asshole,” Lauzon said. “I think he crossed the line. It was completely unrelated to bring my brother into it. It’s not hyping the fight at this point. The fight is off because he had to back out. I understand people saying things to hype fights. I’m all for it, but bringing my brother into it out of nowhere was completely bush league.”

Franca is 1-1 since returning from a 12-month suspension for a failed drug test. Lauzon suggested he could have been drinking and that Franca, arrested for DUI in November, go back to Alcoholics Anonymous. Franca then took the high road but issued fair warning once he returns to action in a projected six-to-10 months.

“I told Joe, ‘Easy buddy. I’m messing with you,'” Franca said. “I don’t have any enemies. My business is in the cage.

“I don’t like talking trash. I’ve seen B.J. [Penn] talk trash on TV. It all looks bad. I like Joe, I like the kid, and I like his style. But I’m pissed, and I can’t wait to fight him. I’m mad and want to step in the cage and face him – and I want to fight him in Boston, his city. I want to make him feel bad over there.”

That day will come – it has to – but next on Lauzon’s (17-4, 4-1 UFC) ledger is Stephens (14-3, 3-2 UFC), ho enters the bout already scheduled to face “The Ultimate Fighter 8″ winner Efrain Escadero April 1 at UFC Fight Night 18. Stephens presents an extremely dangerous standup game, which he put on violent display when he knocked out Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 91 with an uppercut that connected from China.

“On our feet it’s the same fight,” Lauzon said. “Stephens is a brawler, but once it hits the ground, it’s going to be an entirely different fight. Hermes is a black belt in (Brazilian) jiu jitsu; Stephens isn’t as good as him on the ground. He’s going to come out and try to knock me out. He doesn’t want to fight me on the ground. Hermes was a bigger fight, but this is a little easier fight for me.”

Easy enough for Baccari to, without hesitation, predict Lauzon in a first-round TKO. Stephens is 4-1 in his past five fights, but there is the belief that Lauzon will use Stephens’ aggressiveness against him and pounce like bloodthirsty pirates on buried treasure.

“Off a kick or a long right hand, Joe is going to put him down,” Baccari said. “And I honestly think if Joe puts that kid on the mat, he will not get up. Joe is a beast on the ground. He really is.

“I remember reading a book on pirates. When they used board ships, they put these special rags on their heads and they’d light them on fire. It would horrify people, and that’s what Joe reminds me of in the cage. People think he’s a nut, but it’s really not at all like that. Everything is set up to a T what’s going to happen. He just does it in fast forward.”

Fast forward is the speed in which Lauzon’s career has moved since he debuted in the UFC in September 2006 with a stunning 48-second knockout of former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, who back then was still regarded as a top contender in the division. Lauzon’s plan was to use his hands to set up a takedown until he landed a left hook that dropped Pulver. Lauzon finished him with a barrage of blows to give “Little Evil” his first UFC loss in eight fights.

“I wasn’t expecting a knockout,” said Lauzon. “I was trying to get him to keep his hands up, keep him honest so I can take him down. I was just as shocked as anyone.”

The win rocketed Lauzon to a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter 5″ and Penn as his coach, and eventually the main event of UFC Fight Night 13 against Kenny Florian. But Florian was also a rising star whose talent wasn’t the only thing that had him ahead of the curve. Lauzon arrived to suburban Denver days, not weeks, before the bout, which deprived him of enough time to acclimate himself to the altitude. Even if his system had taken the shock of the mile-high air, Lauzon’s battle was lost before it was fought. Like Lauzon, Florian is also from the Boston area. The two quickly became friends, but only Florian was able to check it at the gate. And he handed Lauzon his first loss in seven MMA fights with a second-round TKO.

Still convinced he can beat Florian, Lauzon watched him defeat his next two opponents (Roger Huerta and Joe Stevenson) and it devastated him. Baccari, a handbook of motivational quotes, had to play one of his psychological cards.

“When somebody beats you, you better hope he beats somebody, everybody else and you did the best against him,” Baccari said. “That’s how it works in the fight game. B.J. Penn had better hope Georges St. Pierre (fresh off a four-round pounding of Penn at UFC 94) beats everybody now and makes everyone look terrible.”

Lauzon rebounded with an impressive TKO of Kyle Bradley in September, which put him back in the main event, a desired position atop the competitive 155-pound division and a chance to derail a young opponent on a hot streak. Whether it’s speculation, innuendo or fact, expect Lauzon to keep you plugged in. Owner of a bachelor’s degree in computer networking from Boston’s Wentworth Institute of Technology, Lauzon embraces texting and social networking, and is savvy enough to manage the resources to his advantage. In the days before and after a fight, Lauzon gets upward of 500 messages a day, many of which he answers.

“I try to use every advantage I have,” Lauzon said. “You’re cheating yourself if you’re not using all of your assets.”

Somewhere in cyberspace, Franca will be watching with a vested interest.

(Pictured: Joe Lauzon, photo by Emily Harney)

Jon Lane is a New York-based sports reporter and an MMAjunkie.com contributor.

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